When Worlds Collide
by ConfessionsOfAGeekyFangirl
Summary: Davey and Crutchie get accepted into the University of Musical Theatre Characters, but while they're there, they end up meeting...themselves! Written For the Newsies Pape Selling Competition.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my second entry for the Newsies Pape Selling competition. Inspired by the recent reunion, our prompt was to have the movie-verse characters meet the stage-verse characters, and we had to include a time-hole rip.**

 **Prompt: Your newsies meet in college.**

 **Characters: David/Davey and Crutchy/Crutchie**

 **Dialogue: "This shouldn't be possible."**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the movie version of** _ **Newsies,**_ **or the stage version of** _ **Newsies,**_ **or any other musical or show that I mention or reference in this fanfic.**

Chapter One

"Hey, Davey, you okay?"

Davey flinched at the sound of his friend's voice in his ear, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Y-yeah…I'm fine."

Crutchie frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," said Davey, lowering his gaze. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, it's just that you'se been organizing your sock drawer for…'bout an hour or so."

Davey felt his face redden as he hurriedly stuffed his last pair of white socks into the drawer before slamming it shut. He hadn't meant to take so long, but his mind had wandered off without him again, dwelling on all of the things that could possibly go wrong in his current scenario. As per usual.

Besides, how could Davey expect to survive an entire four years of college if he couldn't even manage to maintain a perfectly organized sock drawer? If his socks were all in disarray, well, then soon his whole room would be a mess, and then he wouldn't be able find a pencil to do his homework, and then he'd fall behind in class, and then he'd end up flunking out of school! His entire family would be so disappointed in him—they might even disown him, and then he wouldn't be able to get a good job, and then he'd be stuck living on the streets all by himself, and then one of his former friends might pass by him one day and think, "Oh, poor David Jacobs. He could've amounted to so much more in life if he weren't such a failure."

He would probably die of shame.

"Hello, Davey? Are you there?" Crutchie waved a hand in front of his face to catch his attention. God, he really needed to stop zoning out like that.

"S-sorry," he mumbled, blushing again.

"S'okay." Crutchie smiled at him before motioning towards Davey's bed. "Wanna talk about it?"

Davey hesitated before walking over, taking a seat on the foot of his neatly made bed. Crutchie followed after him.

"Alright, so what's buggin' you?" Crutchie asked, placing a reassuring hand on Davey's shoulder.

"It's—it's stupid. It's just that, well…" Davey's voice trailed off and he sighed. Crutchie looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish. "I don't know. I'm just really nervous about starting school here."

Crutchie nodded in understanding. He'd probably known that the whole time. He and Davey had both been accepted into UMTC (the University of Musical Theatre Characters), and it was only natural that his friend would be feeling anxious. Honestly, Davey seemed to feel anxious about nearly everything, but that was just a part of who he was.

Davey continued. "I mean, nobody at school back in New York liked me, so what if no one here does, either? What if they all think there's something wrong with me, or if I can't make any friends? What if I do something to mess everything up and they all end up hating me?"

"Davey," Crutchie laughed, _"that's_ what you're worried about? That the folks here will think you is weird?"

"Well, I-I mean…" Davey shifted uncomfortably.

"We're at a college for _musical theatre characters,_ Dave! Everyone here's weird! Have you met Elphaba Thropp from _Wicked,_ yet? Her skin is green! And then there's Matilda; she's only, like, ten, and is smart enough to move things with her mind! Or what about those guys from _West Side Story_ we saw on the way in, huh? They was beatin' each other up while doin' ballerina moves at the same time!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Davey, laughing at the memory because it _had_ looked pretty silly.

"See? You'll fit right in with these guys in no time." He beamed at the other boy. "In fact, I bet you'll meet somebody who's _exactly_ like you!"

 **AN: Also, there's a reference to an older fanfic by another author in here. The first person to guess it right gets their own oneshot. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

About thirty minutes later, Davey had escaped to the one place where he seemed the most likely to fit in: the library. The room was large, dimly lit, and filled from top to bottom with selves upon shelves of more books than he'd ever seen in his life! The scent of worn paper and faint dustiness filled Davey's senses the very moment he stepped through the door, and the familiarity comforted him.

Sticking his hands into the front pockets of his trousers, Davey made his way further inside. There were some other people in there, but not many. The first person that Davey noticed was Elphaba Thropp, sitting by herself at a table not too far from him, hunched over a large book and frowning in concentration. Crutchie was right; her skin was a bright, almost fluorescent green that could be spotted from miles away!

In the furthest right-hand corner of the room sat a group of poor-looking students—all with the same, red-white-and-blue badges pinned to their breast pockets—quietly but passionately discussing politics. They were from some kind of French musical, weren't they?

And then, carrying a large stack of what seemed to be fantasy novels that reached almost up to her chin was who Davey thought he recognized as Belle from _Beauty and the Beast._ She gave him a kind, friendly smile as she passed him by on her way to the checkout desk, and Davey allowed himself to smile back.

Feeling his frazzled nerves cool a little, Davey continued to walk towards the back of the library. Maybe he'd be able to find something good to read there.

* * *

Crutchie hummed cheerfully to himself as he walked through the campus grounds, taking in the scenery around him. It was a nice, sunny day—warm, but slightly breezy. Students were scattered all over, socializing with their friends and introducing themselves to others. It was amazing seeing all of these colorful and interesting characters coming together for the first time. Spiderman was throwing some of his webs around and swinging from the tree tops, most likely trying to catch the attention of Heather Chandler, Heather McNamara, and Heather Duke, who were all standing nearby, gossiping with Elle Woods about shoe brands.

Meanwhile, Roxy and Velma where performing one of their acts from _Chicago_ for a small crowd of onlookers. Several Elders were going up to people and shaking their hands, offering them a special book that would supposedly change their life.

"No," said Crutchie when he was approached by Elder Price, "but thanks a lot for the offer."

Crutchie continued exploring the area. Little Orphan Annie was handing out freshly picked dandelions to people, which of course Crutchie graciously accepted and proudly tucked behind his ear. He noticed the group of Jellicle Cats standing off to the sidelines by themselves; nobody seemed to like them all that much. Crutchie made sure to stop and wave to them, calling, "Hiya, fellas!"

All of their faces lit up and they waved back enthusiastically.

He smiled to himself as he kept walking. God, he wished that Davey came with him. This was so much fun, and he probably would have ended up making some new friends. Crutchie hoped that Davey would at least find a good book to read in the library. Davey was usually happy when he was reading a good book.

* * *

It didn't take long before Davey had lost all track of time. He was enjoying himself, going through each bookcase and scanning through each of the titles, amazed at just how much there was to read there. Occasionally, when something in particular caught his attention, Davey would pull it off the shelf and examine it, before returning the book to its original spot and continue on his way.

Eventually, he decided to head over and check out the Mystery section. Still lost in thought, he turned around the corner—only to slam into someone else, knocking them both onto the floor.

"Hey!" they cried in frustration.

Davey's face instantly seemed to catch on fire. "Oh my God, I am so, so s-sorry," he stuttered anxiously, looking up to see the other person.

When their eyes locked, they both froze in place.

Staring back at Davey was another boy who looked very similar—not exactly the same, no, but _very_ similar—to himself.

* * *

 _WOOSH!_

Crutchie looked up overhead, peering into the sky. Laughing, he saw that Aladdin was giving some students a ride on his magic carpet.

He wasn't watching where he was going, though, and ended up accidentally bumping into someone else.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you th—!" Crutchie started, but then stopped when he got a good look at who he was apologizing to.

* * *

It was the other boy who decided to speak first.

"What's your name?" he asked nervously.

"…David Jacobs," Davey answered.

He shook his head in disbelief. "This shouldn't be possible."

* * *

At that very moment, somewhere, out in the distance, a faint rumbling sound could be heard.

If nobody had yet noticed it, they certainly would soon…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Wow!" exclaimed Crutchy in astonishment. "I never knew that we gotta stage musical made about us!"

He and Crutchie had been sitting together on a bench for a while now, sharing their stories. Both newsies were completely amazed to learn of the other's existence; they were two completely different versions of the same character from two completely different versions of the same musical! Crutchie could hardly believe it.

"Well, I never knew that we was a movie first," Crutchie responded. "Or that they even let movie characters into this school."

"Yeah, they just started this year, after them kids from _High School Musical_ complained about it."

"Huh. You know why they did that?"

"I think it was somethin' to do with them not knowin' how to survive in the real world," explained Crutchy. "Apparently their musical ain't so close to normal high school."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad they'se lettin' you guys come here now," said Crutchie.

"Me, too. When our movie came out, it didn't do so good, and me and the others were real sad. They'll be so happy when I tell 'em we got our own Broadway show!"

Crutchie smiled at his new friend's excitement. "Are any of them here now?" he asked.

Crutchy nodded. "Yeah. My pal David came here with me. He's real smart."

"My friend Davey is here, too!" Crutchie's eyes lit up.

"Great! Say, I wonder if they ran into each other, yet."

* * *

This was turning out to be, without a single doubt, the absolute strangest day of Davey's life.

He was seated in a crowded coffee shop that was right on campus, surrounded by characters from various musicals, staring across the table at…himself.

Or rather, a different version of himself.

From an alternate universe.

Oh, the boys back home were never going to believe this.

The… _other_ David didn't seem to be too interested in starting up a conversation—although, really, what would they even say to each other? _"You're mildly allergic to wool? No way; I am too! It's almost as if we're the same person!"_ —instead, he just sat there, focusing intently on stirring the steaming contents of his mug. (They'd both ordered the same thing: dark roast with no cream or sugar.)

Davey glanced around the room to see who else was in there. There was a shy-looking guy with glasses feeding chunks of red meat to some kind of starnge and unusual plant under the table, a small group of artists drinking lattes and making an obscene amount of noise, and a pretty, dark-haired girl holding hands with her boyfriend and giggling. A few feet away, Davey could see a guy dressed in a dark cloak, wearing a white mask over half of his face and glowering at them.

Finally, he decided to speak up. "S-so, let me get this straight." David looked up at him then, waiting for him to continue. "You…You're me, and I-I'm you, only…"

"Only different," David finished for him.

"But how is that possible?!"

David stayed quiet for a moment, lost in thought. He took a long sip of his coffee before finally answering. "I mean, I guess it can happen. Movies get turned into musicals all the time, so…"

"But, there d-don't generally seem to be two—two different versions of the characters running into each other in day-to-day life," Davey pointed out.

"Look, I don't know!" David snapped. "I'm not exactly okay with the idea of there being another me, either. You're kind of freaking me out, actually."

Davey's face flushed with embarrassment, and his gaze sunk to his lap. "S-s-sorry," he whispered.

When he finally looked up, David was biting his lip guiltily. "No, look, _I'm_ sorry." He sighed, pushing a hand through his dark, curly hair. "I just…I seem to have this really bad habit of speaking before I think, like, my mouth gets ahead of me, and…I usually end up saying things I don't mean."

"I hate it when that happens." Davey nodded in understanding.

"And, you know, I'm still confused about," his hand gesticulated in the air for a moment, _"this_ whole thing, but…I guess it isn't so bad. I mean, out of all the weird things I've seen today here—"

"Like that?" Davey asked, motioning towards the artists who were now spontaneously beginning to dance on the tabletop.

David laughed a little. "Yeah. Like that."

Another stretch of silence fell over them.

"So, um," Davey started, "…would you happen to be allergic to wool?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Okay, so does Jack ever, like…forget about the concept of personal space with you?" Davey asked, leaning in more towards David. Their coffee was long gone, and the shop was mostly empty by this point.

" _Yes._ All the time," David replied with a small laugh. "He's like that with everybody, though."

Davey nodded. "I don't get it. How can someone be so comfortable around other people like that? I'm lucky to just be able to make eye contact half the time!"

"Does it ever bother you?"

"No," said Davey, "not anymore. It was kind of weird at first, I guess, but I've sort of just gotten used to it at this point." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Jack isn't here with you now, is he?"

David's expression suddenly clouded over. He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "No," David answered. "He isn't."

"Why not?"

"He has _more important_ things to be doing these days, instead of hanging around us." David's voice was practically dripping with sarcasm.

Davey wanted to know what exactly had happened, but decided not to ask. It was clear that David was still bitter about it, whatever it was.

"Um, yeah," he said, shifting uncomfortably and trying to think of a way to change the subject. "M-mine isn't here either. He was too busy with Katherine and his new job and everything."

"Who's Katherine?" asked David.

Davey paused for a moment, confused. How could David not know who Katherine was? Could she really somehow not exist in his world?

"Um, Katherine…she's, uh, the—the reporter who helped us out with the strike."

"But what about Denton?"

Davey blinked. "…Who's Denton?"

"Bryan Denton. He's the reporter who helped _us_ with _our_ strike." David shook his head, clearly as off-put as Davey was. "I didn't know there were female reporters, though."

"Sh-she's one of the only ones," explained Davey. "She's, uh, also kind of engaged to Jack."

"… _Oh._ Um. Okay then."

"What's the matter?"

"Well, Jack— _my_ Jack, at least—was actually seeing Sarah for a while. I don't think it was anything serious, but…yeah."

Davey hesitated before finally asking, _"Who's_ Sarah?"

David gave him an exasperated look that implied that the answer should be obvious. "…Sarah? You know… _your sister."_

"I don't have a sister."

They stared at each other in silence.

"This is really weird," David finally stated, burying his face in his hands.

"Yeah," agreed Davey.

Just then, the piercing tinkling of the little bell hanging above the front door sounded through the shop. Both boys turned to look at who had come in through the entrance. The sight before them made their jaws drop. It was Crutchie and what looked to be the other Crutchy, riding together on the back of…

"Is that a rainbow unicorn?" questioned David, his voice completely monotonous.

"…Yup."

"…You think we've gone crazy?"

Considering the day they'd both been having, "crazy" seemed rather fitting. "Probably, yes."

"Hiya, guys!" they chorused together, both climbing down from the mythological creature and hobbling over to Davey and David's shared table.

"You must be the other Davey," said Crutchie, grinning cheerfully and offering his hand.

"David," he corrected automatically, shaking it.

"And I'm the other Crutchy. It's nice to meetcha."

"…Nice to meet you, too," Davey finally responded, still vaguely confused.

"Um, Crutchy?" David said.

"Yes?" they replied together.

David stared at them before shaking his head and continuing. "Where, uh, where exactly did you guys get the…unicorn?"

"Well, it's funny you should ask! Me and Crutchy ran into each other a few hours ago," explained Crutchie, "and we decided to hang out together. So, we—"

"So," Crutchy continued, "we ended up bakin' brownies, findin' a new home for a group of orphan puppies, savin' a kitten from a burning building, readin' stories to small children, endin' world hunger, discoverin' a cure for cancer, puttin' and end to racial and religious discrimigation—"

"Discrimination," Davey and David said in unison. Oh, great. Now _they_ were doing it.

"Yeah, that. And in the whole process, we ran into this beautiful creature right here, and she was real said-lookin' 'cause she had a thorn stuck in her hoof. So we pulled it out for her, and she decided to give us a ride back here."

"We named her Steve," Crutchie cheerfully informed them.

"Uh, why?" David inquired.

"Well, 'cause she looks like a Steve!"

Both boys were too stunned to think of anything to say in response.

"So, what did you guys do this afternoon?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Suddenly, there was a thunderous crash from outside the cafe, followed by the sound of many students screaming.

"What was _that?"_ Crutchie wondered aloud.

"I don't know," said David. He stood up, tossing some money onto the table to pay for their drinks, before walking over to the door. He motioned for his friends to follow him. "C'mon, let's go check it out."

The boys couldn't believe the sight they were met with. Up in the sky, a large, swirling black hole had appeared, sucking up everything that stood beneath it. They all stared in awe as the grass was ripped apart and pulled upwards, being absorbed along with hundreds of leaves and various pieces of litter. A number of students were scattered about, hiding behind bushes and clinging on to tree trunks for dear life.

"What is it?" yelled Crutchy over all the noise.

"It looks like a black hole!" David shouted back.

Davey gasped in realization. "Guys! It's because of us!"

"What?!" They all turned to look at him.

"All of us meeting must have caused a rip in the space-time continuum! This thing will destroy the universe if we don't stop it!"

"Well, what are we going to do?" demanded David.

Then, a voice called out: "NEVER FEAR, BATMAN IS HERE…whoa— _ow!"_

With those words, down from the top of a nearby tree fell the one and only Jack Kelly, landing at their feet with a loud _thud._

He, for some odd reason, was dressed from head to foot in a black bat costume.

"Hey, guys," he said with a crooked grin, stumbling to his feet and brushing the dirt off of his outfit. "Need some help?"

"Jack?" David said incredulously. _"This_ is what you've been doing with your free time?"

"Yes. I have decided to fight crime as a superhero. I am," he struck a dramatic pose, "the Batman!"

"You look ridiculous."

Jack crossed his arms defensively. "Oh, I'm _so_ sorry, Dave. Do _you_ happen to have an Oscar? No? Didn't think so."

"Well, this is worse than the time you decided to be a serial killer—"

"Now, wait just a minute—"

The other three boys all watched the argument in confusion.

"Okay, who's that?" Davey asked, pointing a finger at Jack.

"I _think_ that's my Jack," responded Crutchy, looking as baffled as the rest of them.

Crutchie's eyes widened. "Guys! We gotta get him outta here before he makes the time-hole even bigger!"

"Do something!" the other two fired back.

Without thinking, Crutchie lifted his crutch and swung, hitting Jack with it and causing him to fall over into the black hole's path.

"Hey, what did you do that f—?" Jack started, before instantly getting sucked up and eaten alive. Instantly, the dark vortex vanished from the sky, leaving the day as clear and sunny as it had been a few minutes ago, leaving no trace of either it or the vortex left.

David blinked in shock. "I can't believe that actually worked."

Crutchie stared at his crutch, panicked. "I—I didn't mean to…I didn't think it would…!"

"Don't worry, Crutchie," said David, placing a comforting hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. He then turned, staring up into the sky. "He was the hero we deserved, but not the one we needed right now."

The other students started to slowly reappear from their hiding places and make their way over.

"Hey, did you guys see that?" cried Little Red Riding Hood. She gestured towards Crutchie. "That little guy saved us!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, and Crutchy stood at the center of it all, blushing.

"Thanks," he said, "but to be honest, I never coulda done it without the help of my friends."

And so, Davey and David and Crutchie and Crutchy were declared the true heroes of the University of Musical Theatre Characters. Nobody ever heard from the Batman again. The space-time continuum, for whatever reason, remained intact for all eternity. The four of them eventually finished school together and remained the best of friends for the rest of their lives. They all lived happily ever after.

THE END

 **AN: Thank you all for reading! Here's a fun game to play: try to list every musical and movie that I referenced in this fic.**


End file.
